Our current office and
research facility is located in the old Henderson County
jail, 201 E. Larkin Street, one block north of the
courthouse in Athens. We have a wealth of information
that can be found here, including, but not limited to,
obituaries; antique photographs; CSA pension files;
family, community, and club histories.

We are open for research Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from
9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. We are
closed on all county holidays. For your convenience,
call before coming to make sure we are open.

The genealogical
research done by Mr. Randolph was been donated to the
commission. This collection consists of seven boxes of
records that include not only Henderson County but other
Texas and Louisiana locations. Scroll through the list of
surnames and subjects here.

The orphaned
marriage licenses are now available for adoption through HCHC!

There
are nearly 7200 original marriage licenses never
picked up at the Henderson County courthouse. They
begin in 1893 and end with the one in 1985. In the
early years, it was necessary for the couple to
retrieve their license from the county clerk and
these make up the bulk of the licenses. The ones
after the late 1940s were mostly returned by the
post office for incorrect address or address not
found. There are couples from the surrounding
counties: Van Zandt, Smith, Anderson, Navarro and
Kaufman. There is even one where the couple
married in Tarrant County and one couple who changed
their names and then had their license reissued.
Several of these licenses were issued but never used
for various reasons, some stated the reason, some
simply returned the license and we can only guess as
to the reason.

When
requesting a license, please respect the guidelines set forth by the county clerk's office. A
signed
request stating relationship must be in our
files before we can release a license.

Our Mission:
In accordance with the
State Historical
Commission, our mission is to protect and preserve
Henderson County's historic and prehistoric resources
for the use, education, enjoyment and economic benefit
of present and future generations. Members are appointed
by the Henderson County Commissioners Court to serve two
year terms.